When I lost my sense of smell because of Covid, it was a huge reminder of how important scents are to my health. Plus, you can't own a fragrance company without being obsessed with scents, you know?
I'm always testing new scents and experimenting with new blends, but I do have a pretty solid routine that adds to my mostly healthy lifestyle.
Morning
The first thing I do when I wake up is reach over to my nightstand and grab bergamot or a special blend I'm testing (woodsy with a touch of peppermint). Both scents are effective at giving me a mental boost, but I prefer bergamot. However, experimenting with peppermint turned out to be beneficial.
Want to learn more about bergamot? Read the post "The Scent Behind Early Grey Tea."
Gym
I've been experimenting with scents to see how they can benefit my fitness for almost a year now. I noticed some interesting results so it made me pretty excited when a recent study shows that it's possible to use scents to increase motivation related to fitness.
Remember when I said experimenting with peppermint proved beneficial? Unlike the alertness that bergamot makes me feel, peppermint gives me a jolt of motivation to get moving physically. That's why I decided to use that as the main ingredient in my fitness scent. My current blend consists of peppermint, cedarwood and birch. I'm a sucker for woodsy scents so I had to include a few of those in the blend.
I apply a few drops to the top of my hands 15 minutes before my workout, which helps with an initial boost in motivation. Once I'm at the gym, I take a quick sniff in between scents for an ongoing push before I hit the weights again. I would compare the motivation to when you're in the middle of a set and your favorite part of a song comes on. Something like a "LET'S GO" feeling.
Shower
I spray my eucalyptus blend on the bottom of the shower walls so the steam lifts the scent from the ground up. This makes for a more therapeutic shower experience.
Work
I like spending time outdoors, which is why I even lived in my Airstream for a year. Unfortunately, I still need to work and can't spend all my time outdoors. Since I've been working from home more than I ever have, I experimented with my collection of scents. I'm constantly changing which essential oils are in my diffuser while working, but my main scents when I'm feeling a little stressed are Hammock or Theo. A few sniffs of either instantly brings me back to certain memories being outdoors. Hammock reminds me of relaxing moments swaying in a hammock and Theo reminds me of my favorite hike.
Evening
Most evenings consist of reading or watching a movie and both options are enhanced with scents. A lot of my evening blends have hinoki oil in it because of its calming effects. Multiple studies have shown that a natural chemical found in woodsy oils like hinoki are capable of dropping cortisol levels, in addition to other benefits.
You can learn more about one of my favorite essential oils and why I use it on a blog post, "What is Hinoki Oil?"
Just Because
Every once in awhile I put on the sports jacket or suit and head to a jazz club instead of jeans and the outdoors. Experiences like that call for a different type of scent. When I'm in that mood, I turn to our more traditional colognes, Matterhorn or Drakensberg. They're subtle enough not to stink up an elevator or airplane, but strong enough for people close enough to appreciate.
Create Your Own Scent Routine
If you're new to the idea of using scents for a healthy lifestyle, try my current routine. From there, experiment with different scents to find your optimal scent routine. Like a diet, it takes effort to find what works for you, but once you do you'll notice an improvement in your daily mood. As always, reach out if you have any questions.
